Campaign To Abolish No Recourse to Public Funds

Call on the Home Office to Save the Lives of All Women and Children

Today marks International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and the start of 16 Days of Activism on Violence against Women.

The Campaign to Abolish No Recourse to Public Funds welcomes the Government’s commitment to provide benefits and public housing for victims of domestic violence who are in the UK on spousal visas while they apply for settlement under the Domestic Violence Immigration Rule, due to start in April 2012. It also welcomes the Sojourner Project, established by the Home Office in 2009 and managed by Eaves Housing for Women, as a pilot to pay direct housing and living costs as an interim solution. This represents a major victory for the Campaign, and for the rights of women at risk of gender based violence and exploitation.

However, there are many other vulnerable victims who remain without a safety net. These include women in the UK on other visas, overstayers, and overseas domestic workers, who experience gender based violence or abuse and exploitation by their employers. Women who have been trafficked into the country are also not protected. These women are still forced to make a stark choice between staying within an abusive relationship, and risking their lives, and that of their children, or leaving, and facing destitution, and in many cases, also deportation. Under new proposed legislation, they will not be entitled to legal aid to make an application to stay in the country or to appeal against refusal.

Monitoring data collected by the Campaign from some agencies from across the UK, has found that during the period 24 October – 18 November 2011, there were 137 women and 74 children experiencing abuse with an insecure immigration status looking for accommodation and/or support. Of these, 52 were accommodated and supported, and 54 were provided with support only. Disturbingly 31 (29%) women and 16 children were unable to access any support, and only 48 (35%) were eligible for Sojourner funding. This means that a shocking 65% of women were ineligible for help from the Sojourner Project, and were either dependant on limited support elsewhere or destitute.

The Campaign is also dismayed by the Government’s new proposals on family-related migration, including plans to increase the probationary period for spousal visas from two to five years, and changes to the Immigration Rules which require applicants for settlement under the domestic violence rule to be free of unspent convictions, despite the fact that many victims of abuse act in self-defence or are falsely accused of crime by abusive partners and family members. These changes undermine women’s ability to escape abuse and gain access to safety and support.

The Campaign calls on the Home Office to ensure that there is:

Effective implementation of the new benefit scheme for victims of domestic violence on spousal visas.

Provide benefits and public housing for all victims of gender based violence and exploitation. In the interim, a pilot should be established similar to the Sojourner Project for such victims.

Provide legal aid for all victims of gender based violence and exploitation with immigration problems.

Exempt victims from the unspent criminal conviction regulations.

Re-consider proposals in the recent family migration consultation, such as the extension of the probationary period for spousal visas from 2 to 5 years, which will force more women to stay in abusive relationships without recourse to protection.

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Southall Black Sisters, a not-for-profit, secular and inclusive organisation, was established in 1979 to meet the needs of Black (Asian and African-Caribbean) women. Our aims are to highlight and challenge all forms gender-related violence against women, empower them to gain more control over their lives; live without fear of violence and assert their human rights to justice, equality and freedom.